Tag: spiritual hunger

• Psalm 50: A Prayer for Sacrifice

  
  

  Friday, November 7, 2013

  Psalm 50

  A Prayer for Sacrifice

  “Just as physical hunger is an indication of a living, healthy organism, so spiritual hunger is a sign of a robust spirit, one that is active and continually developing. The soul which feels no hunger for God, no need to seek him and to find him, and which does not vibrate or suffer with anxiety in its search, does not bear within itself the signs of the Resurrection.  It is a dead soul, or at least one which has been weakened and rendered insensible by lukewarm-ness”.

  MAGNIFICAT Meditation, Fr. Gabriel of St Mary Magdalene, O.C.D.

  What do we do when we feel that God is not listening? We might turn away, become angry or depressed; we might even curse God in the belief that we have been deceived. Yet these are the acts of petulant children. So what must we do? We must praise God still.

  What do we do when we encounter God on our pilgrimage, even when we do not know at the time that it is God who works, plays, prays beside us? We might explain away the miraculous touch of God’s visit. We might take credit for God’s work in our lives by telling others that our good fortune is due to our own sweat and brains. Yet these are the acts of spoiled children. So what must we do? We must acclaim God still.

  What do we do when we realize that God has just brushed by us, and we were so enmeshed with living that we did not take proper notice? We might excuse ourselves saying that we have too much work to pause, too many worries to reflect, too many tasks on our list of chores. Yet these would be the acts of self-centered children. So what must we do? We must applaud God still.

  How might we behave when we feel as though God ignores us? We consider that we thirst, we consider that we hunger and we translate this sense of loss into a pining for the Living God. We consider that we are experiencing our own Resurrection and so we praise God. We consider that God accepts our burnt offerings of the thousand little and big ways that we suffer daily for Christ and so we acclaim God. We consider that we are experiencing spiritual hunger and for this we thank and applaud the Living God. For it is this yearning, this desire, this hunger which awakens the soul . . . and saves us from any lukewarm-ness. 

  And so we pray,

  Generous and loving God, save us from our petulant selves and bring us close to you. 

  Patient and gentle God, rescue us from our spoiled selves and keep us ever in your presence. 

  Powerful and omniscient God, redeem us from our self-centered selves and remind us to give thanks to you.  

  Eternal and serene God, transform us from our insensible selves so that we might always live and act in you.  Amen.

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  Adapted from a reflection written on March 26, 2008.

  Cameron, Peter John. “Meditation of the Day.” MAGNIFICAT. 26.3 (2008). Print.

   For more information about the papyrus fragment of Psalm 50 above, click on the image above or go to the Duke Papyrus Archive at: http://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/scriptorium/papyrus/texts/homepage.html 

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  November 7, 2020

  Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene, lukewarm-ness, papyrus, pilgrimage, praise God, spiritual hunger

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• Psalm 50: A Sacrifice of Praise

  
  

  Friday, November 6, 2020

  Psalm 50

  A Sacrifice of Praise

  “The problem here is that a dead conscience lies behind the feverish ritual, reeking with sacrificial smoke, on the one side, and, on the other side, ignoring public morality. People think that ritual wraps its sacred mantle round them to hide the rotten morality of their lives. Ritual, however, is no alibi for sinning. The “wicked” addressed in v. 16 should probably be understood as none other than the “people” of v. 6, who are as eager to recite statutes as they are to offer sacrifices, tough without taking to heart the obligations of the covenant . . . It is also possible . . . that the criticism is also directed specifically at them [priests and leaders]. These leaders are afraid to condemn what the people are doing lest they lose their stipends (Deuteronomy 18:8). They even encourage sin to receive greater sin offerings and so “they feed off the sins of my people” (Hosea 4:8). Tolerating such deviousness, they give the impression that God is also deaf and blind to the situation. In concluding the entire psalm, vv. 22-23 echo phrases from the minor conclusion (vv. 14-15) and realistically warn once more against the sin of religious externalism”.  (Mays 413)

  We might think about religious externalism, about wrapping ourselves in perfunctory or false ritual. We might also think about what drives us to engage in artificial ritual. We might think about our spiritual hunger.

  We want to caution ourselves when we are thinking that perhaps God is deaf and blind to our circumstances. God knows and sees all. This we must trust. This we must believe. When we feel as though our petitions fall on deaf and uncaring ears, we will benefit from standing our sense of loss on its head: perhaps we yearn for God so much . . . perhaps we hunger so much for more of his healing presence in our lives . . . that we feel as though he does not listen . . . is not present . . . does not respond as we might wish. We might consider that our thirst for God is so great that we believe that God is not listening . . . when in fact he is. This might mean that our sense of hunger and thirst is not such a bad thing after all. Consider the words from Psalm 63: O God, you are my God, for you I long; for you my soul is thirsting.  My body pines for you like a dry, weary land without water . . . For your love is better than life, in your name I will lift up my hands . . . On my bed I will remember you.  On you I muse through the night for you have been my help . . .

  We long for God. We feel incomplete here on this plane with only God’s Spirit to accompany us, only God’s Son to walk with us. We want to feel the full impact of a constant interaction with the Trinity.  For this we hunger. For this we thirst. This is praise we are willing to offer to God. This is praise as sacrifice.

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  Mays, James L., ed.  HARPERCOLLINS BIBLE COMMENTARY. New York, New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1988. 413. Print.

  Adapted from a reflection written on March 26, 2008.

  Image from: http://delightabidelove.com/2013/02/

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  November 6, 2020

  artificial ritual, hypocrisy, Psalm 63, religious externalism, spiritual hunger, Trinity

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